Will any NFL team sign Colin Kaepernick?

1of9CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 04: Quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers stands on the sidelines in the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on December 4, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. ~~Photo: Joe Robbins, Getty Images

3of9Colin Kaepernick (7) enters the field with his teammates before the first half as the San Francisco 49ers played the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, October 2, 2016.Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

4of9In this file photo taken on September 8, 2018 a Nike Ad featuring American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick is on diplay in New York City. - American millennials -- the generation of people aged 17-35 -- are a popular target for advertisers and brands, but companies risk missing out by approaching them as one homogeneous population. From Gillette razors to McDonald's and American Express, every major American company is touting its efforts to attract these young people, considered the workforce of tomorrow and the new generation of consumers.Photo: Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images

5of9Colin Kaepernick (7) takes a picture with a fan before the San Francisco 49ers played the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, January 1, 2017.Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

8of9FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, in Seattle. Kaepernick has a new deal with Nike, even though the NFL does not want him. Kaepernick’s attorney, Mark Geragos, made the announcement on Twitter, calling the former 49ers quarterback an “All American Icon” and crediting attorney Ben Meiselas for getting the deal done.Photo: Ted S. Warren / Associated Press

9of9CORRECTS DATE- People walk by a Nike advertisement featuring Colin Kaepernick on display, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018 in New York. Nike this week unveiled the deal with the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who's known for starting protests among NFL players over police brutality and racial inequality. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)Photo: Mark Lennihan / Associated Press

When Colin Kaepernick makes his comeback in the NFL, what kind of player and person will his new team be getting?

Yes, Kaepernick is eligible to play, and eager to get a shot. Sadly for the Kaepernick-haters who pounced on the narrative that his settlement with the league meant he signed away his football future for a big payday, that is not the case.

Kaepernick’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, indicated last Saturday in a CNN interview that his client is free to play in the NFL and is open to offers.

However, Geragos might have been overly optimistic when he said he expects Kaepernick to draw interest from multiple teams. The vast majority of NFL teams want nothing to do with Kaepernick. Most owners either dislike him or fear him, or both. Same with a lot of coaches.

Owners and coaches will be verrry careful not to collude via e-mail or other traceable means. They simply won’t call. I’m guessing Kaepernick is a leper to all but three or four teams.

His politics and his style of play definitely work against him.

So Kaepernick’s market is definitely limited. But a lot of teams are working with very shaky backup quarterbacks, and QBs get hurt a lot. So some team might take a shot on an experienced, healthy, versatile guy.

If so, if he gets a chance, what will Kaepernick’s new team be getting?

First of all, Kaepernick can read a defense. He read the NFL’s defense expertly. He (and his lawyer) stared down the mighty NFL at the very heart of its power, at the corporate and legal level, and picked it apart.

Ah, but what about football defenses? The critics would have us believe that Kaepernick is a drooling football doofus who can’t tell a linebacker from a limburger.

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2017 file photo, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) warms up before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, Calif. Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden says the team "talked about and discussed" bringing in Kaepernick for a tryout "but we will probably go in a different direction." Gruden told reporters during a conference call Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018 that would there have been "a greater possibility" of considering Kaepernick if the Redskins were in need of a QB in Week 1 rather than at this stage of the season now. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

Photo: Tony Avelar / Associated Press

Let’s all agree: Kaepernick is not Tom Brady or Drew Brees. But even if he was the slack-jawed yokel many folks claim he is, he did drool the 49ers to a Super Bowl, and he fooled one of the game’s great coaches, Jim Harbaugh, who called Kaepernick a “savant.” And Harbaugh worked with Andrew Luck.

But let’s give Kaepernick a “C” on reading defenses. That means half the quarterbacks in the league are dumber. What about the rest of the package?

When Kaepernick’s new teammates arrive for work, he will be there waiting for them. With the 49ers, he was always the first player to arrive for practice. Always.

He will be in shape and prepared, that’s a given.

But will he be a good teammate?

With the 49ers, he wasn’t always. There were reports of Kaepernick putting on his headphones and sinking into his own world, far from his teammates. His silly name-rank-serial-number press conferences made him and his team look bad.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the St. Louis Rams Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, in St. Louis. The Rams won 27-6. (AP Photo/Billy Hurst)

Photo: Billy Hurst / Associated Press

But the post-protest Kaepernick was a completely different dude. He dealt with the media on an intelligent, human level. More importantly, he reached out to his teammates, explaining his protest and creating an open dialogue, accepting of those who disagreed with his beliefs.

In his final season, Kaepernick’s teammates voted him the Len Eshmont Award for “inspirational and courageous play.” That doesn’t mean they all loved him, but for the most part his teammates respected and understood him.

Kaepernick became a rare breed, a person who can, as they say in government, reach across the aisle. He learned that he has the power to unite a team. That will be vital when he drops into a team that will surely be divided on the protest issue.

Can he avoid unnecessary controversy? Unknown. Has he outgrown the pig socks and Castro t-shirt and matured into a leader, understanding the power of his protest and his fame? Is he wiser now, or merely more cynical? We’ll see.

His team will be getting a guy who likely has gained wisdom and maturity from two years out of a job, time spent on the streets, working with various charities and with young people.

His new team will not be signing up for a media circus. As a 49er, Kaepernick the protester handled media sessions in a dignified and non-distracting manner. He was comfortable in the spotlight, but didn’t take over the locker room.

As much as Kaepernick wants to further his cause of promoting social justice and fair treatment for minorities at the hands of police, he also wants to play football, and win. When he shows up for work, he will show up for work.

Kaepernick might tear up the league with his determination and fire, and with his arm and legs, or he might fall on his face, as many predict.

But he will be ready. Kaepernick’s new team will get a quarterback who is committed and passionate.

Scott Ostler has been a sports columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1991. He has covered five Olympics for The Chronicle, as well as one soccer World Cup and numerous World Series, Super Bowls and NBA Finals.

Though he started in sports and is there now, Scott took a couple of side trips into the real world for The Chronicle. For three years he wrote a daily around-town column, and for one year, while still in sports, he wrote a weekly humorous commentary column.

He has authored several books and written for many national publications. Scott has been voted California Sportswriter of the Year 13 times, including six times while at The Chronicle. He moved to the Bay Area from Southern California, where he worked for the Los Angeles Times, the National Sports Daily and the Long Beach Press-Telegram.